In an event that is quickly becoming a tradition, the Rochester Knighthawks capped off their season Tuesday with a championship celebration.

The Knighthawks rallied from a game down in each of their playoff series and then captured their National Lacrosse League-record third straight championship with another comeback in the deciding "mini-game" on May 31 at the Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester Community War Memorial.

The celebration began late in the morning with a parade from the Blue Cross Arena to City Hall and wrapped up with a get-together at the Radisson Hotel Rochester Riverside.

Among those in attendance at The Radisson were players Cody Jamieson, Joe Walters, Mike Kirk and Sid Smith, assistant coach Paul Day, VP of Player Personnel Jody Gage and owner/general manager Curt Styres. Each took a turn addressing the 250 or so fans in attendance, followed by an opportunity for autographs, photos or just to chat.

"Coming to events like this is a feeling that won't get old," said Jamieson, in his fourth year with the team. "It's a little bit different every time, but at the same time the third time is still as exciting as the first."

Styres, a finalist for NLL GM of the Year, was one of the last to speak and had his customary lacrosse stick at the podium.

He thanked the fans for their support and even went as far to say it was the crowd's intensity that pushed in a goal in Game 2 of the championship series against Calgary.

"Thanks for pushing us over the top. You were the seventh man every night," Styres said. With a new playoff format and fewer teams in the postseason, the script this year wasn't the same as the first two.

Instead of sneaking into the playoffs as a lower seed, Rochester was amongst the league leaders the entire season.

The playoffs stored the typical drama, this time in a two-game series format, but the end result was a familiar one.

"It's starting to be routine but that just means you're doing something right," said Walters, an Irondequoit graduate. "This is just so special to share the win with our fans, share the cup with our fans and show how grateful we are of them."

Jamieson felt a sense of vindication with the third title.

"The past couple of years everybody said the only reason we won was because it was a one-game playoff system and the better team didn't win.

"We felt (the NLL) changed the playoff system for us to lose. So to be able to win that and prove that — everybody says that the better team is going to win in a series and we felt the better team won."

With most of the roster expected to return next season, a fourth straight title is a possibility, but it's still too early to look ahead.

"I think the guys are really trying to soak this one in and celebrate it," Kirk said. "I think everybody is coming back and I can't wait to get back to work next year."